(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a method and an apparatus for heating a portion of a vehicle and more particularly, to a method and an apparatus for quickly and efficiently heating a window of a vehicle.
(2) Background of the Invention
It is desirable to selectively heat or defrost a window of a vehicle, particularly the portion of the window or windshield in front of the driver and the backwindow, in order to remove any ice, frost and/or snow which may respectively form or be deposited upon these windows, thereby allowing the driver and occupants to view the surrounding area and allowing the driver to thereafter navigate or maneuver the vehicle. Moreover, it is further desirable to quickly defrost these windows in order to allow the vehicle to be driven shortly after entry of the driver and passengers, thereby reducing the amount of wasted fuel and energy which is expended while the vehicle is activated or running, but remains stationary while the windows are being cleared or cleaned.
One strategy to quickly heat and clear a window is to provide a relatively large amount of energy or power to the entire window in a relatively short amount of time. While this strategy does allow the window to be quickly defrosted, it typically requires more energy than is usually supplied by or is available from a conventional vehicular battery and/or charging system, especially when one considers the relatively large energy requirements of the relatively large variety of assemblies which are now commonly and often concurrently used within a vehicle. Hence, the implementation of this entire window quick heating strategy typically uses a relatively large amount of power, requiring a relatively high voltage battery (e.g., a battery having in excess of the voltage provided by a conventional vehicular battery) and relatively heavy or bulky wires to communicate the relatively large electrical current produced by the battery and/or charging system to various portions of the vehicle, thereby also undesirably increasing overall cost and maintenance. This strategy may also be impractical, in many vehicular configurations, due to a lack of packaging or mounting space within the vehicle.
The present invention allows a vehicular window to be quickly and selectively heated in a manner which overcomes these previously delineated drawbacks and in a manner which is more particularly set forth below.
It is a first non-limiting advantage of the present invention to provide a method and an apparatus for defrosting a window of a vehicle in a manner which overcomes some or all of the previously delineated drawbacks of prior strategies.
It is a second non-limiting advantage of the present invention to provide a method and an apparatus for quickly and efficiently defrosting a window of a vehicle in a manner which overcomes some or all of the previously delineated drawbacks of prior strategies and which, by way of example and without limitation, does so by use of a conventional vehicular battery.
It is a third non-limiting advantage of the present invention to provide a method and an apparatus for quickly and efficiently heating a window of a vehicle in a manner which overcomes some or all of the previously delineated drawbacks of prior strategies and which, by way of example and without limitation, increases the amount of heat which is conventionally applied to a vehicular window without concomitantly requiring an increase in the energy capacity provided by a conventional vehicular battery assembly.
It is a fourth non-limiting advantage of the present invention to provide a method and an apparatus for operating at least two selectively energizable vehicular assemblies in an efficient and alternating manner.
According to a first non-limiting aspect of the present invention, an apparatus for heating a window of a vehicle is provided. The apparatus has a first portion which heats a first part of the window; and a second portion which heats a second part of the window.
According to a second non-limiting aspect of the present invention, an assembly is provided for use with a window of a vehicle. The assembly includes a plurality of conductors which heatingly communicate with a portion of the vehicle, each of the plurality of conductors being coupled to an electrical ground potential and including a respective first portion which selectively receives energy and which produces heat by use of the energy; and a respective second portion which selectively receives energy only when the communication of the energy to the first portion is interrupted.
According to a third non-limiting aspect of the present invention a method is provided for heating a vehicular window. The method comprises the steps of heating a first portion of the window; and heating a second portion of the window after the first portion has been heated.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention and by reference to the following drawings.